fucking clueless ...

[lurch70]

are big rockstars completely detached from reality and what their peers are doing?

METALLICA's LARS ULRICH: 'BOB ROCK Will Always Be Our Producer' - Jan. 6, 2006 Despite rumors of a possible collaboration with Rick Rubin (SLAYER, SYSTEM OF A DOWN, SLIPKNOT), METALLICA have no plans of working with anyone else but their longtime producer Bob Rock on their upcoming studio album, the group's drummer Lars Ulrich revealed in a brand-new interview published in the latest issue of METALLICA's fan club magazine, So What! A couple of excerpts from the chat, conducted by So What! editor Steffan Chirazi, follow:

Q: I was going to ask you about other music [from other bands].

Lars Ulrich: "I mean, there's nothing out there that really is particularly inspiring. . . I would say in terms of harder-edged records that have come out in the last year, like I said, other than the third SLIPKNOT album ['Vol 3: The Subliminal Verses'] and the SYSTEM [OF A DOWN] record ['Mezmerize'] that came out a couple, six months ago, there's nothing . . . certainly in the metal world . . . There's a band called AVENGED SEVENFOLD that have an interesting sound, kind of like a fresh mixture of old-school [JUDAS] PRIEST and [IRON] MAIDEN with some new-school attitude, energy, and lyrics. Other than them, nowt. But now with iTunes and iPods, you have records from 25 years ago that are as readily accessible as the new shit. And so me and James [Hetfield, METALLICA guitarist/vocalist] were talking. . . you sit there and listen to the 'Number of the Beast' [IRON MAIDEN's 1982 LP] or you know, 'Strong Arm of the Law' [SAXON's 1980 album], and you almost feel guilty for still getting an enormous amount of pleasure out of that. Because shouldn't there be something else?"

Q: [Talking about the next METALLICA album] It's not been "thought out" or pre-planned.

Lars Ulrich: "No. When I hear a record like the SLIPKNOT record or the SYSTEM record or something like that, I certainly, without being disrespectful to the fine work that 'St. Anger' was, look forward to paying a little more attention to the sonics this time. I would want to make a record again that sounds warmer."

Q: Because it ["St. Anger"] was a very harsh and abrasive record.

Lars Ulrich: "Yeah, and like I said at the time, that was kind of the idea. And we got that out of our system. I would say right now that I certainly look forward to spending a few more minutes on the drum sound rather than sort of ignoring it on purpose. Or making a record that has a little attention paid to the sonics of it. Other than that I really have no idea where it's gonna go."

Q: Is Bob [Rock] in on this? Has that come up for discussion?

Lars Ulrich: "I would say that Bob Rock will always be our producer. You know it's almost like default. It's not whether he should produce, it's more whether he shouldn't produce it. So I would expect Bob Rock to produce it unless he's not interested."

 

[MadeInNewJersey]

Well, Metallica is. So are several other of the "big name" thrash bands from the '80s, btw, Anthrax & Slayer included.

 

[NAD]

gee i can't wait for a bunch of people who hate Metallica to buy the new album anyhow in hopes that it'll sound like Puppets, further perpetuating their suckatude.

 

[lurch70]

i would really like to see Kirk file a divorce ...

how can a band let themselves go out in flames like this ...

 

[cthulufhtagn]

every interview i've ever seen with any figure in a big-name metal band (metallica, pantera, black label society, etc etc) has featured them whining about the "lack of good metal out there". i read some interview with dimebag where he said something to the effect of "me and zakk wylde're the only sumbitches out thur still playin' geetar like back in the old days" and i wanted to stab him in the face. very few musicians at that level give two shits about the scene that got them there in the first place.

 

[MadeInNewJersey]

i read some interview with dimebag where he said something to the effect of "me and zakk wylde're the only sumbitches out thur still playin' geetar like back in the old days" and i wanted to stab him in the face.

Perhaps a different way of phrasing your annoyance with Dime, eh?

 

[cthulufhtagn]

ok ok, i wanted to dig him up and slap him around a little...i'd put him back

 

[Crimson Velvet]

Well, this certainly wasn't good news... It would've been better if he said something like: "The new Heathen demo kicked so much ass, that we're gonna immitate them!"

 

[JayKeeley]

i would really like to see Kirk file a divorce ...

From the band? I'm not following...

 

[lurch70]

of course from the band ... wtf?

what do I know who he is married to ...

 

[NAD]

very few musicians at that level give two shits about the scene that got them there in the first place.

there's a lot of truth to that, and i don't understand it. okay so the tape trading days are gone, but the bands are still there! just have to look.

 

[lurch70]

the thing is most of them have this thing in their heads that they are the "leaders" in their field ... so anyone else is a pretender ... no need to look at the "small" guy for ideas or inspiration.

as in the business world ... this is the biggest mistake you can make

 

[lurch70]

ok more Lars rants ... these are kind of dead on ... all you Mustaine supporters can maybe chime in here ... there are some facts that were certainly put into perspective here

So What!: We should address the Dave Mustaine [MEGADETH mainman, ex-METALLICA guitarist] issues which have repeatedly come up. It irritated you to a great degree at one point on the tour, to the point where I think you considered for the first time in 20 years stepping off the high ground and throwing a volley of shit back at Dave. Why do you think this continues to come from him? Are you, as we sit here, at peace with the fact that Dave is, shall we say, an idiosyncratic person? Do you feel sorry for him? Or do you think it's lame that this guy keeps on popping up, like 20 years later, and bitching about a life that is actually rather good as a consequence of his work with you?

Lars: "I talked about it quite a bit towards the end of the tour. And my thoughts haven't changed much. I was saddened by the fact that his views on 'Some Kind of Monster' [METALLICA's documentary about the making of their last album, 'St. Anger', in which Mustaine makes a brief appearance] were as extreme as they were, because I still say today that those moments in the film were incredibly strong and incredibly emotional and powerful. And I'm certainly proud of my part in that. I'm a little perplexed by his reaction, but also a little mistrusting of it… because he wasn't able to follow through on that kind of openness in front of whoever he feels he has to serve. And I felt that was just a pity. One could certainly argue that all of the shit that went down in the wake of it summarizes the different places that we are in, how we view our careers, just who we are, and so on."

So What!: When he was speaking up and out, why did you just not get him on the phone and say, "Look, dude, what the fuck's the problem?" And why does that not happen? I mean, why could that not happen?

Lars: "I don't know, man. I think I divorced myself from it emotionally. You were around at the height of all that stuff, and like I pointed out at the time, [there's] a funny parallel between Dave Mustaine's METALLI-bashing and the releasing of a new record of his. So there's this weird that that's kind of sad and pathetic that, X percentage of the press around a new MEGADETH release simply becomes about METALLICA, which is, you know, sad and pathetic. But also, if you put it in perspective and still look at a couple of factual things, remember that the guy was in our band for just around a year."
So What!: Wow. When you put it like that…

Lars: "…there's two more. He was in our band for about a year. Before we released our first record — he's never played on a METALLICA record. Okay, that's number two. It was 22 years ago. That's number three — okay? So put those three facts down, he was in our band for a year. He never played on a METALLICA record, and it was 22 years ago. It's pretty absurd that it still can be that big a deal. I mean, to me, that's just fucking mind-boggling to the fucking highest degree.

 

[dorian gray]

lol @ cthulu

 

[MadeInNewJersey]

lurch, stop reading Blabbermouth

 

[General Zod]

Best quote ever.

Zod

 

[lizard]

well, Lars is absofuckinglutely right about Mustaine. grow up and put shit behind you.

 

[lurch70]

lurch, stop reading Blabbermouth

... it's my Enquirerer

 

[dorian gray]

who are metallica?

 

[lurch70]

this band that Dave Mustaine was in